It's Not Whisky, But Everyone In Scotland Drinks It By The Bottle

Irn Bru is a hugely popular Scottish soda that may even outsell Coca-Cola in Scotland. It also symbolizes local pride in a place that will vote on whether to break away from the United Kingdom next month.

"People call Irn Bru Scotland's other national drink, after whisky," says Sara Grady, who works for a market research firm.

Courtesy of Irn Bru

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Originally published on September 11, 2014 9:10 am

For a visitor to Scotland, it can be difficult to understand the local passion for a neon orange soda that locals call "the brew." The drink is Irn Bru (pronounced "iron brew").

You can find it from McDonald's to corner stores and pubs across Scotland. It is such a powerful force that it may even outsell Coca-Cola here — making it one of the few places on the globe where Coke isn't the leading brand.

For the sake of journalistic integrity, it's important to confirm that she has no family connection to the company. She insists she does not, then pauses.

"I was brought up about 10 minutes away from the factory, so maybe they put something in the water," she says.

As Scots prepare to vote on independence next month, the fizzy fervor for this fluorescent fluid may offer some insights into Scottish nationalistic tendencies. When asked why they're so crazy for this Scottish soda, people most often reply, "Because it's Scottish."

"We're proud of what we have. That's why it outsells Coca-Cola," says Fergus. "Because we're so proud of our own products."

At a nearby old-fashioned candy store, shop worker Agnes Plunkett has shelves of Irn Bru-flavored sweets, from sticky taffy to translucent lollipops. Though since these are not officially licensed products, they're spelled "Iron Brew."

"This is the chews. This is Iron Brew humbugs. Orange flavored as well, orange colored," she says, walking down the shelf of candies. Every thing Iron Brew flavored is a great seller, she says. "Very popular."

Plunkett lets a visitor sample one of the hard candies. It starts out sweet, followed by a burst of acidity. And, of course, it's bright orange.

Much of the world treats Scottish icons as kitsch. Kilts. Haggis. Bagpipes. But for Scots, these are potent symbols of national pride. One of Irn Bru's advertising slogans is "Made in Scotland, from girders." Girders, as in the steel beams that hold up buildings.

"People call Irn Bru Scotland's other national drink, after whisky," says Sara Grady of the market research firm Datamonitor Consumer. "Whereas I think Coke prides itself on being a brand that's the same all over the world, Irn Bru appeals to people because it's so Scottish."

Grady explains that she's English, "and so everything I see of English culture, we're kind of shy about it. Whereas they're just loud and proud."

"In some ways, I guess you could say that while Coca-Cola embodies the American dream, Irn Bru could be the Scottish version of that," she says.

At the Irn Bru factory just outside Glasgow, visitors must wear protective earphones. The rattling sound is constant as 96,000 cans an hour fly down the line.

"We'll sell about the equivalent of 17 cans a second, which is a huge volume to keep up with," says brand manager Martin Steele, who's serving as our tour guide.

When the tour is done, I tell Steele that I have a confession.

I still have not actually tasted Irn Bru soda.

"Shall we do that? Shall I get you a can and you can try it?" he says. "Give me two seconds. I'll nip into the factory and get you a can."

He brings back an ice-cold bottle, straight off the factory floor. The contents are the color of a sunset in a hazy sky.

I take a sip. And it tastes like ... soda. Sweet. Fizzy. A bit bubble-gummy.

To me, it seems like nothing special. Then again, I'm not Scottish.

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Coca-Cola is the number one selling soft drink in almost every country, but depending on what statistics you use, one rare exception may be Scotland. There, a florescent orange soda rules the land - a symbol of Scottish identity. In just a few weeks Scotland will vote on whether to break from the United Kingdom, and NPR's Ari Shapiro wondered whether the Scots's love of that fizzy drink can offer any insight into their nationalism.

ARI SHAPIRO, BYLINE: The drink is called Irn-Bru - I, R, N, B, R, U. For outsiders, Scotland's passion for this drink can be difficult to understand. In Glasgow, Laura Calgie was the very first person we stopped on the street at random to ask about it.

LAURA CALGIE: For my wedding toast I had Irn-Bru in champagne glasses instead of champagne.

SHAPIRO: You're kidding. You had Irn-Bru in champagne glasses.

CALGIE: Yes.

SHAPIRO: And you don't have a family connection to the company or anything like that?

CALGIE: I was brought up about 10 minutes away from the factory, so maybe they put something in the water.

SHAPIRO: I figured she must be an outlier, so we stopped Chris Young next. He was walking down the street carrying a bottle of Irn-Bru.

CHRIS YOUNG: The stuff runs in my blood.

SHAPIRO: OK, but he was actually drinking the stuff when we stopped him, so that's not a fair sample. What about the woman he was walking with, Gayle Fergus?

SHAPIRO: I asked everyone where this fervor comes from - why they're so crazy about this Scottish soda. And the most common answer was we love it because it's Scottish.

FERGUS: We're proud of what we have. I think that's, like, a really Scottish - I think that's why it outsells Coca-Cola, because we're so proud of our own products.

SHAPIRO: At a nearby old-fashioned candy store, shop worker Agnes Plunkett has shelves of Irn-Bru flavored sweets from sticky taffy to fluorescent orange lollipops. She offers us a sample of the Irn-Bru hard candies.

Oh, it's really nice.

AGNES PLUNKETT: It is. Very nice.

SHAPIRO: That's very nice.

PLUNKETT: This is chews. This is Irn-Bru humbugs - orange flavor as well - orange color.

SHAPIRO: How popular are all of these Irn-Bru candies?

PLUNKETT: Very popular.

SHAPIRO: Much of the world treats Scottish icons as kitch - kilts, haggis, bagpipes. But for Scots, these are potent symbols of national pride. One of Irn-Bru's advertising slogans is, made in Scotland from girders - as in the steel beams that hold up buildings.

SARA GRADY: People call Irn-Bru Scotland's other national drink after whiskey whereas I think the Coke prides itself on being a brand that is the same all over the world. Irn-Bru appeals to people because it is so Scottish.

SHAPIRO: Sara Grady works for Data Monitor Consumer, a market research firm in London.

GRADY: I'm English, and so everything I see oh English culture, we're kind of shy about it, whereas they're just loud and proud. It's - in some ways I guess you could say that while Coca-Cola embodies the American dream, Irn-Bru can be the Scottish version of that.

SHAPIRO: At the Irn-Bru factory just outside of Glasgow, 96,000 cans an hour fly through the line. Brand manager Martin Steele is our tour guide.

MARTIN STEELE: We sell about the equivalent of 17 pounds a second, which is a huge volume to keep up with.

SHAPIRO: When we finish the tour, I tell Martin Steele I have something to confess.

I still have not actually tasted an Iron Bru.

STEELE: Shall we do that? Shall I get you a can and then you can try live on the air...

SHAPIRO: May I?

STEELE: ...And see what you think?

SHAPIRO: May I have a taste?

STEELE: Yeah, give me two seconds and I'll nip into the factory and get you a can.

SHAPIRO: He brings back an ice-cold bottle straight off the factory floor. I take a sip and it tastes like soda - sweet, fizzy, a bit bubble-gummy - to me it seems like nothing special. Then again, I'm not Scottish. Ari Shapiro, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.